Best Forex Trading Platform For Beginners

Forex traders new to currency trading require a specialist forex brokers for beginners that have offer major currency pairs, fixed spreads, strong customer support, an easily to use forex trading platform such as MetaTrader, tools to reduce the risk involved and a demo account.

EasyMarkets Spreads & Fees

EasyMarkets unlike most other brokers fixes their spreads. This provides certainty around the costs associated with forex trading. The table below shows the fixed spread rates as of January 2019 which start from just 1.8 pips for AUD USD.

The forex market currency pairs are more extensive that the table above with 59 pairing options. A trading accounts offer all of these forex markets as well as a wide range of CFDs from Metals, Indices, Options to Commodities.

In addition to fixed spreads, commissions are not charged when trading forex. The only additional fees to spreads are rolling fees charged when traders hold their position overnight which is 0.1%. It was the combination of fixed spreads, no commissions and low rolling fees which was the primary reason to the EasyMarkets best forex broker recommendation. More advanced traders might prefer ECN brokers so we have compared easyMarkets with ECN brokers such as Pepperstone, IC Markets and AxiTrader.

EasyMarkets Leading Risk Management Features

There are three features EasyMarkets offers forex traders helping to manage risk levels in currency markets which are:

1) Deal Cancellation

In 2016 Easy Markets was the first forex broker to launch Deal Cancellation. The tool allows forex traders to cancel a trade within 60 minutes and get your money back when the market moves in the wrong direction.

There are four key advantages of the new Deal Cancellation feature:

i) Safety Each month there are key trading periods that lead to volatility from employment reports to interest rate decisions. Deal Cancellation allows traders to be active during these periods and cancel the trade if the incorrect announcement is made.

ii) Opportunity Volatility can last extended periods while it provides opportunity many traders choose not to enter the market due to the risk involved. Deal Cancellation provides the ability to enter the market (with one year periods) with an exit route if required.

iii) Advantage Deal Cancellation allows higher leverage levels and amounts to be traded based on the ability to cancel the trade within 60 minutes*.

iv) Confidence The initial period of trades are often the most critical so having confidence in the first hour can setup trades over time.

2) Guaranteed Stop Loss Trades

All forex brokers offer stop-loss features on trades which allows currency traders to pre-set the amount they are willing to gain or lose on a trade. The issue though is that ‘gaping’ can occur in markets which can lead to a forex broker to not sell at the pre-determined price requested. This leads to slippage which can potentially lead to higher losses then expected.

The example to the right occurred in 2015 when a shock announcement by Swiss national bank abandoned the Euro 1.20 fixed rate with the blue shaded area been the gap. A standard stop-loss feature would of achieved the lower rate of 1.04.

A guaranteed stop loss on the other-hand guarantees you will get the price that was set. In this case, that price may have been at the top of the blue shaded area (1.17) leading to reduced potential losses. This is why this feature is so popular to those new to currency trading.

3) Negative Balance Protection

Currency trading stories of traders losses exceeding their deposit exist from extreme situations such as the Swiss decision above. What makes these events more significant is the leverage all forex brokers offers amplifying any profits or losses currency movements lead to. While guaranteed stop losses and Deal Cancellation are two options that Easy Markets traders can activate, some trader may not opt-in for these features.

To further protect traders who don’t use risk management features, the forex broker has created a negative balance protection scheme. This protection automatically activates a ‘margin call’ when a trader is approaching a zero balance to avoid them going into debt. This closes the traders active position. There is a risk that the market is too volatile for this tool to close all positions in time so Easy Markets has the policy to cover any additional losses to guarantee the trader won’t end up in debt.

Risk Management Summary

EasyMarkets doesn’t just have a tool (like most brokers) to automatically close off a traders position when they approach no deposit but will refund any additional losses. There guaranteed stops helps protect against slippage and Deal Cancellation is unique to the forex broker. These three features are ideal for beginner trading strategies that often incorporate technical analysis to manage the risks of forex trading.

What FX Trading Platforms Are Available?

Easy Markets offers two forex platforms including the world-wide leader MetaTrader 4 (MT4). While offering MT4 helps increase the comparable score of Easy Markets, the fact that many features unique to the forex broker are not present on MT4 has led to the recommendation not to use it if trading with the broker.

1) EasyMarkets Forex Platform

This platform as mentioned earlier has all the core feature that sets Easy Markets apart from the other Australian forex brokers. This includes Deal Cancellation which when activated, allows a trade to be cancelled up to 60 minutes after it was executed.

The platform requires no downloads making it ideal for those trading on temporary devices. The web-based forex platform allows trading across all products from commodities, metals, currencies to indices.

One other element that makes this platform unique is the demo account is free for life, unlike most others that are limited by total volume or days used.

2) MetaTrader 4 By Easy Markets Platform

MT4 is the world’s most popular currency platform and is offered by Easy Markets most likely for forex traders used to the interface.

The key advantages of MetaTrader 4 is the ability to trade on charts, use Expert Advisors (EAs) for automated trades, one-click trade features and multi-terminal trading. MT4 is for more experienced forex brokers and such traders should view our expert trader table first before deciding what broker suits their needs.

Recommendation For Beginner Forex Trading Platform For Beginners

Those new to forex trading should consider the EasyMarkets forex platform based on the ease of use and advanced risk features discussed earlier. The key advantage of MT4 as a forex trading platform for beginners is the ease of changing forex broker long-term. With MT4 the most popular forex platform on the market switching brokers is relatively easy without learning a new interface.

Customer Service & Reputation Of Easy Markets

Easy Markets are one of the largest fx brokers and since 2003 had grown to cater for 160 countries and have licences in Cyprus, European Union and Australia. New forex traders receive a personal Account Service Manager who provides training on forex and the platform of your choice (as explains below). Experiences traders on the other hands receive market insights from a personal dealer.

Comparing Easy Markets reviews from different review sites, overall the scores were very positive including 80% from the leading website ‘Trust pilot’. The key negative easy markets review relates to their leverage levels which as stated before are lower than some other platforms. When it comes to receiving market analysis & technical report you can get them through various channels from text messages, videos to e-mailed regular reports.

As mentioned earlier, Australian forex traders deal with the Australian subsidiary that has an Australian Financial Licence. It’s this subsidiary that offer other products such as CFDs, indices and commodity trading. All deposits are segregated in an ANZ account to provide traders with peace of mind and there are easy payment options such as an online credit card process which can speed up trading and the speed to open an account.

What Leverage Is Available?

Easy Markets offers the near the top leverage rate of 400:1 to Australian forex traders.

Forex is critical when currency trading as movements are only a fraction of other financial markets such as shares. At a 400:1 level you can effectively trade on the currency market 400 times the deposit made. So for example, if your deposit was $100 you could effectively trade on the market the value of $40,000. In this example if the currency market moved by 0.25% you would double your deposit or lose the full amount. This highlights how leverage can multiply forex gains but also increase risks.

As leverage increases risks it’s critical to have measures to ensure it’s at acceptable levels. Easy Markets is one only a handful of brokers to offers guaranteed stop rates. This means you can pre-set the amount your willing to lose on any trade any your guaranteed not to lose more than this amount. While other brokers pay have ‘stop losses’ these are not guaranteed so in highly volatile markets you may lose more then pre-set with the broker termed ‘slippage’.

Another level of protection East Forex offers all forex traders are negative balance protection. Only Pepperstone only offers this which means that losses cannot exceed your deposit. This makes trading more straightforward knowing your only risking the deposit you make.

What Bonus Is Offered By Easy-Forex?

New traders who deposit more than $100 USD will received a first deposit bonus with three deposit ‘tiers’ determining the bonus amount.

$100 to $199 = 30% Deposit Bonus

$200 to $1,000 = 50% Deposit Bonus

$1,001 – $5,000 = 40% Deposit Bonus

It’s critical to note that to claim the bonus first press the ‘visit website’ button below and open an account. Then once the account is opened you should contact the relationship manager and quote ‘First Deposit’ to ensure you receive your bonus. Terms and conditions apply.

Summary Of Why The Best Forex Broker For Beginners Is EasyMarkets

Those new to currency trading need to be aware of the risks involved in forex and have the tools requested to manage that risk. EasyMarkets has some of the best tools in this capacity with Deal Cancellation and Guaranteed Stop Loss options on currency trades. They also provide certainty around broker fees from fixed spreads, no commissions to modest rolling fees for long-term trades.

Combined with risk reduction tools, Easy Markets has strong a strong Sydney based customer service team. Their fx trading platform is easy to use although it does lack some features more commonly seen on MT4.